LEGION: Hydier blanks Doylestown as Steelers advance

That’s what Jason Hydier brought to the table — er, mound — Saturday afternoon. And what he brought went a long way toward Pottstown’s American Legion baseball team continuing its run in the Bux-Mont League playoffs.

Hydier threw a masterful three-hitter, underlining the Steelers’ 3-0 victory over Doylestown in a winners’ bracket semifinal at “Pat” Sundstrom Field. More importantly, he and his top-seeded Pottstown mates weathered a couple dicey situations where their fourth-seeded guests from Bucks County threatened to dent the locals’ whitewash bid.

“He was jacked up out there,” manager Todd Endy said of Hydier, who twice faced bases-loaded situations through the first six innings. “But he got back in his rhythm. He had pop on his fastball, and he was throwing hard.”

Pottstown’s bid for a Bux-Mont title moves on to Quakertown’s Memorial Park, where it will face seventh-seeded Hatfield at 7 p.m. Sunday. A win will put the Steelers solidly into Tuesday’s championship round; a loss will require them to win a championship-qualifier Monday in order to keep going.

Hydier played a big part in guaranteeing Pottstown at least two more dates at Quakertown. He had a no-hitter going through the first five, finishing with eight strikeouts against three hits and walks. And his four-pitch repertoire — slider, curve, change-up, fast ball — was big in that performance.

“Everything worked,” he said. “I was getting ahead in the count.”

And not even a jam in Doylestown’s first at-bat could unnerve Hydier or the Steelers, who came back from Friday’s rainout to enjoy a dry Sundstrom diamond and optimum weather conditions.

A defensive miscue on Andrew Check’s fly ball, hit batter (Jon Mullin) and walk to Ethan Rode filled the bags with one out. But Jimmy Mullen turned a scintillating double play on pitcher Ryan Clow’s grounder up the middle, getting the force on Rode before completing an off-balance relay to Josh Hartman at first to beat Clow.

“That helped a lot, getting that double-play ball,” Hydier said. “I just pushed that inning behind and did what I had to do.”

“That was a huge play by Jimmy,” said Adam Regensburg, who chipped in with two hits and one RBI, added. “When that happened, I knew we had the game. It was one of those plays when something went right.”

The other tight spot came when Doylestown used two of its hits — singles by Jake Warren and Mullin — and a walk to Rode to load the sacks with two out in the sixth. But Hydier retired Clow on a fly to center, ending Doylestown’s final opportunity with runners in scoring position.

“The hits they got off him were good and solid,” Pottstown manager Todd Endy recalled. “Jason’s not used to giving up a lot of hits. We knew if he didn’t give up a lot of walks, he’d be fine.

“You expect that of your number-two pitcher.”

On the other side, Pottstown took advantage of erratic pitching from Clow to produce its runs. Wild pitches by Clow were at the core of the Steelers’ runs: Adam Regensburg (double, stolen base) in the second and Dylan Vermeesch (double) in the fourth. Between them, Richy Masciarelli (single, stolen base) moved to third on Clow’s wild throw in the third before Regensburg plated him with a line-hugging single to left.

“That was a momentum builder,” Regensburg said. “In a game this big, where both teams are doing well, getting any kind of runs is big.”

“We had a day where every kid was producing quality at-bats,” Endy added. “They were going deep in the count, and running well on the bases to score off the wild pitches.”

The only other hit Doylestown mustered came in the seventh, when Colt Smith lined a one-out pitch through shortstop. But Smith went no further, Hydier getting Carter Usowski on a called third strike and Warren on a game-ending fly to right.

“All our pitchers have done extremely well,” Regensburg said. “I think we’ve only had to come back in three or four games. When we give them the lead, they’re all lights out.”

NOTESThe game was completed in a breezy 104 minutes. ... Doylestown’s starting catcher, Clay Sebesky, left the game in the fourth inning after being shaken during Sage Reinhart’s at-bat. Mullin, who started in left field, came on to work the remainder of the contest behind the plate. ... Hydier admitted he was aware he had a no-hitter going before Jake Warren led off the sixth with a single to right. “I had one going earlier in the season,” he said. “When I came in the dugout, I went and sat by myself.” ... Hydier dominated Usowski, fanning the Doylestown shortstop in all three of his at-bats. ... In winning their first two playoff games, the Steelers have put together a 20-2 mark against Bux-Mont League opponents thus far this summer.